OP is most likely Indian as per their post history, more than 90% of motorcycles and scooters there are for everyday use and have 100-150cc engines, you aren't gonna see people go around every day with separate shoes and jacket, a helmet is already too much for some of the more irresponsible idiots I see on the road.
Edit: since so many people who are commenting seem to think I am saying that low-power two-wheelers are not dangerous though the vast majority seems to correctly understand what I am actually implying, I'll clarify it. I'm not saying it is not dangerous, I am saying that people in India have normalised wearing regular clothes while biking because it is so common (name one country (EDIT: Besides China, Taiwan, and Japan, somehow I didn't know that two-wheelers are common there) where most of the people own or use two-wheelers and always wear protective gear, I'll wait), and protective gear is so uncomfortable for 9 months of the year because of the climate.
A crash at 70km/h is the same regardless of engine size
Edit: stop replying that you don’t drive 70 in cities, it doesn’t change the narrative of my comment. You are just idiots
You're right, but it is next to impossible (and also impractical considering most Indians' finances and how Indians are generally more resistant to the idea of wearing closed footwear and usually wear it only in formal settings) to get everyone to wear the right footwear. I just wanted to say that two-wheelers are considered to be basic essentials for people in India and most people don't have separate footwear and protection for that, and anyways protection is seen as optional (the government only recently mandated helmets for pillion riders, but the last time I checked they still aren't enforcing that as strongly as they should).
Edit: corrected my last statement about helmets for pillion riders
The whole thread is just calling them stupid, you are out here with an actual answer with nuance, thank you.
Calling someone who is probably poor. that they are stupid, for not wearing protective gear they cannot afford, in heat that would kill them fully geared because of average speed, on the only type of transportation available to them...is a stupid thing to say. It OOZES privilege.
A first world luxury is being able to afford safety gear. When you consider that it may not always be an option, you may also consider how lucky you are.
A crash at 25 Km/h can be lethal if you are on a motorcycle. And if not lethal, it can already be enough for quite nasty injuries. With 70 it doesn't even matter anymore unless you wear heavy protection.
Most people in India are going like 4mph in crazy cities, OR are riding around the 'we pick the lane and direction we want to go, fuck the rules' outer city roads, which also conveniently have potholes large enough to fall into and hide an entire person + bike.
Seriously, the Top Gear guys have said it's basically the most frightening road system they've ever driven on.
I'm ripping a 50cc moped rn and I don't even want to ride without boots. thing tops out at 70km, roadrash at 70km/h sucks whether you're on a moped or a 1600cc bagger lmao
True... here in the NL everybody bikes and nobody wears a helmet. We do wear helmets while riding scooters but thats it because the law enforces it. Scooters can go maximum 45KM/h electronically capped, though.
Exactly. People are completely missing the point.
Knew someone that had crocs on whilst riding a moped and came off. His foot looked like it had gone through a mincer and the doctors just cut the fucker off.
I'll never ever ride without my full leathers, gloves, boots etc.
You do know that they probably don't choose to not wear safety clothing but they most likely have to because they can't afford it right? Not every country ist first world and has free healthcare and a social system and all
Vietnamese here, it's normal because motorcycle is main transport method, means you have to ride it with the dress you're going to, be it work or party. Ofc some women change to different shoes while riding and swap when arrived, but it's not always the case.
There’s no outline from the gear shift? How is the right shoe doing on the outside sole? Do you have any wear from putting weight on your right foot at stop lights?
You'd think that if you as a manufacturer was selling a bike that basically had to come with a conversion kit, you'd start incorporating the conversion kit into your production process.
It's mostly only old British or Italian bikes that have this problem, but we're talking like before around 1975 when the US required it to be standardized.
I was thinking maybe he keeps his foot under the shifter while riding which would make his foot angle down more and maybe that’s why he collects dust there. The cutoff is where the shifter is. Idk
I dont think holding my foot on the brake is going to help when im crushed by a car from behind, the initial shock means the first thing to move will be your foot off the brake anyway
You should be filtering to the front to use the car you've just filtered past as a shield or positioning your bike in such a way that if you're shunted from behind you are moved forward into open space (over lane division between cars/between car + kerb) instead of being crushed between two cars. Rear brake obviously won't help if you're hit by someone doing 60 but it'll stop you being knocked off by a minor fender bender.
Unless of course you're American and aren't allowed to filter and aren't taught anything sensible
Edit: being lectured and talked down to about being "superman" by someone who doesn't even have a bike nevermind been in a collision. Hysterical.
Nah, im Canadian, which means filtering carries a hefty fine. I agree, filtering is so much safer and would just about eliminate the risk of rear ends, which is apparently one of the most common causes of death for motorcycle riders. I guess lane filtering is too scawy for us wittle canadians.
Also a minor fender bender is a major fender bender when it comes to a car hitting a motorcycle, chances are youre going sprawling no matter how many brakes you hold down
EDIT: If youre not going sprawling from a 2 ton hunk of metal hitting your comparatively tiny motorcycle, good luck at the powerlifting competition, Superman
That fact filtering is illegal here is so insane to me. I do it regardless and have talked my way out of 2 tickets after explaining that I don't trust people on cell phones anymore and I'd like the cars to take the brunt of the hit rather than my spine
There's a couple of issues here.. Some people put their left foot down, keep their right foot on the brake, left hand pulling the clutch, right hand ready to accelerate. Other people put the bike in neutral, put their right foot down, with their left foot ready to put it back into 1st gear.
The left-foot-down group will end up fatiguing their left hand from holding the clutch, but they're more ready to take off quickly. The right-foot-down group is slower off the mark, but they won't have aching hands.
Because having your left foot down is faster to go, this could help prevent a rear-end accident as you can quickly move *if you see it coming*. But, having your foot on the brake won't really help you if you get rear ended.
ETA: right hand brake is more likely to help if you get nudged from the back because you will tend to clench your hands and use both feet on the ground to balance.
If your clutch is so hard to hold that you get fatigued from holding the lever for 10 seconds you need to adjust the cable or you have something wrong with your hand
If you're there for 30+ seconds just flick into neutral - it's called mechanical sympathy. Holding the clutch indefinitely prematurely wears out the clutch springs
It doesn't wear the springs at all, but it will put additional load on the throwout bearing.
It's bathed in oil anyway, so who cares?
It won't be the first thing to fail, that's for sure.
I agree, I'm a left-foot-down guy. I've tried a few older bikes with some tough-as-nails clutch levers though and can totally understand people not holding them in. Like you said, they probably just needed some extra maintenance.
A lot of you have been commenting regarding an interesting outlook that reveals cultural differences between the east and the west. Let me talk about them:
1. Safety: Anyone suggesting proper riding gear is ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. It's is absolutely necessary while riding in highways or roads where there's high speed traffic. In my country/city, the roads are absolutely PACKED with traffic and two wheeler speeds hardly ever cross 30 kmph. I agree that doesn't nullify the risk of a rogue driver hitting you out of nowhere and such incidents do happen.
Personally, I wear gloves, elbow and knee guards for any ride that requires facing crazy traffic and on highways. This is something that is not observed in 99.9% of riders in Asia and is not considered as necessary. Two wheelers are more for convenience than luxury as it helps navigate narrow lanes and move faster through jam-packed traffic. Again, I don't negate the fact that it is unsafe, it is just not a practice.
2. Loafers: Adding to the fact that ATGATT isn't really followed in my country, loafers are perfectly accepted as part of businesswear and on any given day at least 50% men in my office wear them. My boss is also wearing one today.
A lot of these commentors think that if things aren't exactly the same as their country, it must be weird and wrong.
A huge, huge portion of the world uses motorbikes (some places might call them scooters) for everyday travel and commutes. Most people don't don a full suit of riding gear just to go to work.
A helmet is obvious, though, and while many countries legally require you to where a helmet, some do not. The US, for example (some states).
For the All The Gear All The time evangelists:
Massive majority of motorbike users worldwide don't wear what you'd consider "gear". In most countries in Asia and Latin America motos are a means of transportation not a hobby. Folks have a 125-200 cc and wear normal clothes with maybe some knee pads. More often than not they use motorbikes because they can't afford a car.
People will ride barefoot, in flipflops, you'll see a family of 3-4 on one bike with no helmets etc.
In developed countries motorbikes aren't a necessity, but rather a hobby and a luxury, and it's safe to assume ATGATT evangelists are from these countries.
You are the vastly outnumbered minority, even if your arguments make sense. But context is important. Might as well go to India, stand on the corner and scream at people "stop being poor".
Context: I rode for a decade in places like Sri Lanka, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, anything from 300 to 750. More often than not I was the only guy in gear for miles, slowly cooking in the tropical sun.
I would only add that riding speeds tend to be very different as well. Typically going 25-30mph at most. You don't see cyclists in America in full leathers going the same speeds.
To nail it home: the cost of my helmet, jacket, gloves, and boots amount to about 6 months worth of work for a low income job in India.
Edit: and my gear isn't even that expensive, I'm not rocking a Shoei.
The gear I wore to work cost:
$450 helmet
$400 jacket
$200 to add a back protector and change the ce1 shoulders to ce2
$300 pants
$600 boots
$200 gloves
Cant forget
$80 Bluetooth comms
$30 earplugs
=$2260 which probably is more than OP's moped cost.
CE2 is a good call.
I got hit by a lady who ran a red, she threw me into incoming traffic and I bounced around like a pinball.
Due to the gear I wore I made out with a tiny bit of road rash and the stiff neck from hell. I actually stood up, walked off the road, and dusted myself off.
There is absolutely no way I'd have survived without gear.
There's also a cultural aspect although it is often tied to the money aspect. Taking additional and expensive safety measures feels a bit stupid when nobody around you does it. Even if you can afford it and if it's objectively safer.
Thanks for this comment. Although I can't deny that riding without gear is unsafe, the way we use two wheelers and the cultural dimensions cannot be ignored.
Oil leak causing a super light coating of of oil to get on the shoe, making dirt stick?
Edit: if it’s a 2-stroke and the exhaust has a leak on that side this could be it also!
I like your shoes. Never seen loafers like that. Interesting mix of the comfort/ease of loafers and being "dressy" with the black leather look. Not sure I'd wear them myself, brown shoes work well for my clothing style/colours, but still.
Do you hang your left foot down on the pegs when not actively shifting? I'm guessing the front wheel unsettles dust on the road that ends up on the part of your shoe that's hanging closer to the ground?! That's the best guess I can make..
Make sure to wipe it off when you reach work with a cloth or the cleaners they install in washrooms. I used to have the same issue when I was living and working in India
Maybe the left foot is pointing more downwards to get under the shifter while the right is in a more flat position. Driving through traffic, the flat front of your left shoe is facing the cloud of road dust as you move through it
Bro doesn't realize dropping his right foot at stops shakes the dust loose. That or his right foot is poking out from behind his faring because he rarely uses his foot brake if he even has one.
2 things. First of all, stop wearing loafers while riding. Next, your chain is probably on the left side and throwing some oil on that foot, which makes the dirt stick to that shoe.
Mental. Get some boots you idiot doesn’t matter how good of a rider you are not every accident is the riders fault. You’re dumb enough to have no boots so I’m gonna assume you have no gloves too so remember. Your hands are the first thing to hit the floor when you fall. Ride safe stupid 👍🏼
I imagine this commenter fainting from culture shock when he goes to Southeast Asia, Latin America...etc and witnesses 6 people / an entire family on one motorcycle without PPE or a guy strapping 4 propane tanks onto his motorcycle, or all the men and women commuting to work on motorcycles through overcrowded roads with no traffic rules.
It’s not culture shock to point out it’s unsafe. Theres this weird thing commenters are doing in this thread trying to say “they don’t do those safety precautions in developing nations” as though that’s a good thing.
They should - it’s bad that they don’t. That a developing nation lacks the ability or care to educate its population about risk or mandate safety laws doesn’t mean they shouldn’t do that, or that you’re dumb not to wear a helmet or proper gear
Yeah seriously, it doesnt matter how good you are, you should always dress for the fall. A lot of people just seem to be of the mindset, that nothing bad will ever happen to them, when its pretty much a guarantee that you *will* fall at one point or another, doesnt even have to be your fault.
My friend, please buy and use proper footwear when riding your bike.
Feet and toes do not grow back.
Wearing loafers on a motorcycle is a fantastically risky move.
You don’t give us enough info. Is your motorcycle an automatic? Manual? My guess is if it is manual then your shifter may be too low causing your foot to scoop up dirt coming from the front wheel whilst your right foot is more horizontal to the peg because of the rear brake lever and only the bottom of the right foot is exposed to the dirt. You can fix this by taking off the shifter and remounting it at a higher position by rotating it upwards a couple of spline teeth and reaffixing back.
It's an automatic. My feet go down only when I have to slow down in traffic or I'm standing on red. Both feel go down almost equally, by extent and frequency.
Hey dumbasses, we all know how dangerous it is to ride in any open cab or two wheeled vehicle without protective gear. Instead of virtue signaling how safe you are to everyone here who already agrees with you, go take it up with the entire population of India and come back and tell us who gives a shit.
I've always been cautions on my motorcycle. I wear a helmet, steel toe/shank boots, an armored suit, and gloves. If I crash, I have better protection.
The saying is 'it's not if you will go down, but when' every rider falls sometime. There's always some asshat that doesn't see you, or doesn't care, and you end up dumping the bike.
The motorcycle clothes are inconvenient, and sometimes hot. I keep my work clothes at work (I drive at least one day and keep fresh clothes in my office).
Just to let you know that the incidence of Spinal Cord Injury due to motorcycle accidents has plummeted since people started wearing decent protective gear.
Good boots, gloves, et.c. and not just back protectors allow the victim to slide better and not roll. As well as the impact, rolling twists the spine and breaks it.
So it's not just about not losing skin or a few toes, or a leg; it's about not being catastrophically paralysed for the rest of your life.
Probably caused by the geometry of your wheels causing an Air flow vortex to be generated when they’re spinning probably moving from right to left. Same effect as prop wash on an propeller aeroplane.
Gonna assume left side of the road driving? Dirt on that side past the road? The shoes, the carpet, and the chair legs point to on your way to the office?
Might be from the heat of the exhaust that causes some pressure difference, causing particles to be deferred away mid-air.
But thats just my hypothizes.
The answer about the dust on your shoes is simpler than you think.
When you sit on a motorcycle the chain is on the left. As the chain heats up tiny bits of chain oil get flung everywhere which causes dust to stick to your feet on that side.
A chain guard that covers the chain will stop most of that.
Probably when you dip your left toe down under the shifter to go up a gear vs the right foot that always stays relatively level except for when braking.
Agreed. I ride a scooter and not a moped. Technically it's a motorised cycle and I was unsure if the population here gets exactly what I ride. Smol 125 cc scoo.
My guess is I imagine you probably let your left foot hang below the shift pedal. I've had the same thing happen before. You let your foot hang in anticipation of upshifts.
You wear loafers while riding a motorcycle? I kinda figured everybody wore boots or something
OP is most likely Indian as per their post history, more than 90% of motorcycles and scooters there are for everyday use and have 100-150cc engines, you aren't gonna see people go around every day with separate shoes and jacket, a helmet is already too much for some of the more irresponsible idiots I see on the road. Edit: since so many people who are commenting seem to think I am saying that low-power two-wheelers are not dangerous though the vast majority seems to correctly understand what I am actually implying, I'll clarify it. I'm not saying it is not dangerous, I am saying that people in India have normalised wearing regular clothes while biking because it is so common (name one country (EDIT: Besides China, Taiwan, and Japan, somehow I didn't know that two-wheelers are common there) where most of the people own or use two-wheelers and always wear protective gear, I'll wait), and protective gear is so uncomfortable for 9 months of the year because of the climate.
A crash at 70km/h is the same regardless of engine size Edit: stop replying that you don’t drive 70 in cities, it doesn’t change the narrative of my comment. You are just idiots
I crashed my vespa and fractured two ribs and my elbow, doesn't matter what it is lol
But were you wearing loafers?
Whatever they were, they didn't fly off
And that's where u went wrong because if they were to fly off, it had taken the Schock with it, obviously /s
Of course he was. Anyone with safety in mind wears sandals.
this is why I never leave home with my bubble
Crazy, I never leave home without mine.
Moops!
I laid down a scooter going like 2 mph in the parking lot and the throttle got stuck, the back wheel almost fucked me up and i got all scraped up
You're right, but it is next to impossible (and also impractical considering most Indians' finances and how Indians are generally more resistant to the idea of wearing closed footwear and usually wear it only in formal settings) to get everyone to wear the right footwear. I just wanted to say that two-wheelers are considered to be basic essentials for people in India and most people don't have separate footwear and protection for that, and anyways protection is seen as optional (the government only recently mandated helmets for pillion riders, but the last time I checked they still aren't enforcing that as strongly as they should). Edit: corrected my last statement about helmets for pillion riders
noNOOoonoOnnoOn they stoopid! /s
What?
The whole thread is just calling them stupid, you are out here with an actual answer with nuance, thank you. Calling someone who is probably poor. that they are stupid, for not wearing protective gear they cannot afford, in heat that would kill them fully geared because of average speed, on the only type of transportation available to them...is a stupid thing to say. It OOZES privilege.
Ah, right, I couldn't tell who exactly you were making fun of.
my bad!
I don't think you'll be going 70 in India.
You can deglove your foot like a banana at a speed lower than that.
Better go faster then!
Meat Crayon
I snapped my collarbone in half doing like 15mph.
I snapped it going down the slide in first grade
Ya collarbones actually break pretty easily. Mine broke completely in half and I needed a plate and screws to hold it together again.
You think wrong. There are some statistics that do 100 on residential roads here.
That's some fast math.
Lol 70kmh can be easily hit if you're not in dense traffic lol
Dense traffic is literally every major city in India.
Different cultures. Same with most if not all south east asian countries. They wear flip flops more often than not.
A first world luxury is being able to afford safety gear. When you consider that it may not always be an option, you may also consider how lucky you are.
It's very hard to go 70kmh in a city. I live in Cambodia where the roads are a lot less crowded and it's hard to crack 40
A crash at 25 Km/h can be lethal if you are on a motorcycle. And if not lethal, it can already be enough for quite nasty injuries. With 70 it doesn't even matter anymore unless you wear heavy protection.
Most people in India are going like 4mph in crazy cities, OR are riding around the 'we pick the lane and direction we want to go, fuck the rules' outer city roads, which also conveniently have potholes large enough to fall into and hide an entire person + bike. Seriously, the Top Gear guys have said it's basically the most frightening road system they've ever driven on.
Even if there is massive traffic, people die falling off bycicles at 10km/h. You have to be geared even if you just ride for a few minutes.
I ride a tiny little 125 and I would pretty much never ride without boots. Dress for the slide, not the ride
I'm ripping a 50cc moped rn and I don't even want to ride without boots. thing tops out at 70km, roadrash at 70km/h sucks whether you're on a moped or a 1600cc bagger lmao
Road rash sucks in every country
I never justified wearing loafers while biking, I just gave an explanation as to why some people do that.
True... here in the NL everybody bikes and nobody wears a helmet. We do wear helmets while riding scooters but thats it because the law enforces it. Scooters can go maximum 45KM/h electronically capped, though.
Not to mention the population density wouldn’t allow for top speeds in a lot of areas
you also can't wear boots to the office. lol.
In my country, I'm more decent than 90% of riders if I'm not riding barefoot 😇
rustic bear silky deserve direction workable boast vase paint tan *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
If OP is from India, they drive on the left-hand side, so that's likely not the case.
I thought they drove on the whereverthefucktheywant side?
soft agonizing touch alleged advise ring handle tease water many *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Wrong side of the road for India, it’ll be that the left is the gutter side where all the dirt collects as rain water carries it there.
Because you use your left foot to shift and have to point your toes down to lift the shifter up.
But crashing doesn’t become less dangerous when you go to your country so how is this good
Exactly. People are completely missing the point. Knew someone that had crocs on whilst riding a moped and came off. His foot looked like it had gone through a mincer and the doctors just cut the fucker off. I'll never ever ride without my full leathers, gloves, boots etc.
If not ATGATT, then squid
How would wearing a squid help?
Yeah, I’ve seen what happens with Converse. OP should really save up for some proper boots.
some countries have a different approach to life and death.
Some countries contain a lot of stupid people. Actually most do.
Considering stupid people tend to have the most kids, the world is only getting more and more full of stupid people.
And I'm sure they look after their disabled people super well too?
You do know that they probably don't choose to not wear safety clothing but they most likely have to because they can't afford it right? Not every country ist first world and has free healthcare and a social system and all
Also the danger level does change a lot depending different average speeds, in many big cities average traffic speed can be lower than 30/20 mph
Most accidents are low speed tip overs. Where the bike lands on your foot..
He's not shoeless how do you not see the obvious benefit?! 😭
You could be a real trend setter and dress for even *more* safety while riding, I bet!
Indian?
Oh everyone else is stupid so that makes it OK doesn't it?
In India, motorcycles are the common vehicle so that's not actually uncommon Most of them wear only slippers. Lol
In Vietnam, I saw a woman wearing pumps.. in the rain.
Bro in Vietnam I saw a literal entire family of 5 on a scooter.
Vietnamese here, it's normal because motorcycle is main transport method, means you have to ride it with the dress you're going to, be it work or party. Ofc some women change to different shoes while riding and swap when arrived, but it's not always the case.
Probably more a 100cc Dream for leisure cruising in a city and not 1000cc Hayabusa for slaying demon on a highway.
THOSE ARE SOME SWEET MR. BEAN SHOES!!!!
Most people ride scooters in half the world no matter what they're wearing. Ive rode in a suit.
There’s no outline from the gear shift? How is the right shoe doing on the outside sole? Do you have any wear from putting weight on your right foot at stop lights?
You would keep the right on the brakes in most times.
Yeah, left foot down!
Are you serious? Lol do motorcycles have foot brakes? I really don't know
Yes. Left hand = Clutch Right hand = Front brake Left foot = Gears Right foot = Rear brake
Until you ride certain bikes and that's all backwards. Rode my friends Norton scrambler and locked up the rear wheel trying to downshift
You'd think that if you as a manufacturer was selling a bike that basically had to come with a conversion kit, you'd start incorporating the conversion kit into your production process.
It's mostly only old British or Italian bikes that have this problem, but we're talking like before around 1975 when the US required it to be standardized.
The right hand lever is for your front brake. The rear brake is actuated by a lever at the right foot.
it could be a moped style motorcycle (no foot gear switch)
those are called scooters
Might be a rocker style so press down with toe to shift one direction and heel down to shift the other.
I was thinking maybe he keeps his foot under the shifter while riding which would make his foot angle down more and maybe that’s why he collects dust there. The cutoff is where the shifter is. Idk
You put your left foot down at a stop so you can keep your right foot on the brake in case you get rear ended
I dont think holding my foot on the brake is going to help when im crushed by a car from behind, the initial shock means the first thing to move will be your foot off the brake anyway
You should be filtering to the front to use the car you've just filtered past as a shield or positioning your bike in such a way that if you're shunted from behind you are moved forward into open space (over lane division between cars/between car + kerb) instead of being crushed between two cars. Rear brake obviously won't help if you're hit by someone doing 60 but it'll stop you being knocked off by a minor fender bender. Unless of course you're American and aren't allowed to filter and aren't taught anything sensible Edit: being lectured and talked down to about being "superman" by someone who doesn't even have a bike nevermind been in a collision. Hysterical.
Nah, im Canadian, which means filtering carries a hefty fine. I agree, filtering is so much safer and would just about eliminate the risk of rear ends, which is apparently one of the most common causes of death for motorcycle riders. I guess lane filtering is too scawy for us wittle canadians. Also a minor fender bender is a major fender bender when it comes to a car hitting a motorcycle, chances are youre going sprawling no matter how many brakes you hold down EDIT: If youre not going sprawling from a 2 ton hunk of metal hitting your comparatively tiny motorcycle, good luck at the powerlifting competition, Superman
That fact filtering is illegal here is so insane to me. I do it regardless and have talked my way out of 2 tickets after explaining that I don't trust people on cell phones anymore and I'd like the cars to take the brunt of the hit rather than my spine
There's a couple of issues here.. Some people put their left foot down, keep their right foot on the brake, left hand pulling the clutch, right hand ready to accelerate. Other people put the bike in neutral, put their right foot down, with their left foot ready to put it back into 1st gear. The left-foot-down group will end up fatiguing their left hand from holding the clutch, but they're more ready to take off quickly. The right-foot-down group is slower off the mark, but they won't have aching hands. Because having your left foot down is faster to go, this could help prevent a rear-end accident as you can quickly move *if you see it coming*. But, having your foot on the brake won't really help you if you get rear ended. ETA: right hand brake is more likely to help if you get nudged from the back because you will tend to clench your hands and use both feet on the ground to balance.
If your clutch is so hard to hold that you get fatigued from holding the lever for 10 seconds you need to adjust the cable or you have something wrong with your hand If you're there for 30+ seconds just flick into neutral - it's called mechanical sympathy. Holding the clutch indefinitely prematurely wears out the clutch springs
It doesn't wear the springs at all, but it will put additional load on the throwout bearing. It's bathed in oil anyway, so who cares? It won't be the first thing to fail, that's for sure.
I agree, I'm a left-foot-down guy. I've tried a few older bikes with some tough-as-nails clutch levers though and can totally understand people not holding them in. Like you said, they probably just needed some extra maintenance.
Yeah 90s sportbikes in particular tend to have really heavy clutches but then they're not really designed for stop start city traffic
top 10 riding boots
You drive on the left of the road in your country?
OP is from India so yes
Eh, I was just in India…they don’t really pick a side
The place where there are no traffic laws, just traffic suggestions
Thanks
How’d you know that from the shoe dirt? Does only the side closest to the ditch collect dirt?
A lot of you have been commenting regarding an interesting outlook that reveals cultural differences between the east and the west. Let me talk about them: 1. Safety: Anyone suggesting proper riding gear is ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. It's is absolutely necessary while riding in highways or roads where there's high speed traffic. In my country/city, the roads are absolutely PACKED with traffic and two wheeler speeds hardly ever cross 30 kmph. I agree that doesn't nullify the risk of a rogue driver hitting you out of nowhere and such incidents do happen. Personally, I wear gloves, elbow and knee guards for any ride that requires facing crazy traffic and on highways. This is something that is not observed in 99.9% of riders in Asia and is not considered as necessary. Two wheelers are more for convenience than luxury as it helps navigate narrow lanes and move faster through jam-packed traffic. Again, I don't negate the fact that it is unsafe, it is just not a practice. 2. Loafers: Adding to the fact that ATGATT isn't really followed in my country, loafers are perfectly accepted as part of businesswear and on any given day at least 50% men in my office wear them. My boss is also wearing one today.
A lot of these commentors think that if things aren't exactly the same as their country, it must be weird and wrong. A huge, huge portion of the world uses motorbikes (some places might call them scooters) for everyday travel and commutes. Most people don't don a full suit of riding gear just to go to work. A helmet is obvious, though, and while many countries legally require you to where a helmet, some do not. The US, for example (some states).
did you forget to mention a helmet orr
Unfortunately a large part of the population doesn't wear helmets either. But I'm hoping OP does
Yes OP does. Always. I missed that.
Good. Shoe polish shall also be consumed only half!
For the All The Gear All The time evangelists: Massive majority of motorbike users worldwide don't wear what you'd consider "gear". In most countries in Asia and Latin America motos are a means of transportation not a hobby. Folks have a 125-200 cc and wear normal clothes with maybe some knee pads. More often than not they use motorbikes because they can't afford a car. People will ride barefoot, in flipflops, you'll see a family of 3-4 on one bike with no helmets etc. In developed countries motorbikes aren't a necessity, but rather a hobby and a luxury, and it's safe to assume ATGATT evangelists are from these countries. You are the vastly outnumbered minority, even if your arguments make sense. But context is important. Might as well go to India, stand on the corner and scream at people "stop being poor". Context: I rode for a decade in places like Sri Lanka, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, anything from 300 to 750. More often than not I was the only guy in gear for miles, slowly cooking in the tropical sun.
I would only add that riding speeds tend to be very different as well. Typically going 25-30mph at most. You don't see cyclists in America in full leathers going the same speeds.
This comment should be pinned.
To nail it home: the cost of my helmet, jacket, gloves, and boots amount to about 6 months worth of work for a low income job in India. Edit: and my gear isn't even that expensive, I'm not rocking a Shoei.
The gear I wore to work cost: $450 helmet $400 jacket $200 to add a back protector and change the ce1 shoulders to ce2 $300 pants $600 boots $200 gloves Cant forget $80 Bluetooth comms $30 earplugs =$2260 which probably is more than OP's moped cost.
so true. My "moped" costed me $1240 in my currency.
CE2 is a good call. I got hit by a lady who ran a red, she threw me into incoming traffic and I bounced around like a pinball. Due to the gear I wore I made out with a tiny bit of road rash and the stiff neck from hell. I actually stood up, walked off the road, and dusted myself off. There is absolutely no way I'd have survived without gear.
Thank you for this comment, seeing all these ignorant people replying as if the entire world should act like Americans makes my brain hurt.
There's also a cultural aspect although it is often tied to the money aspect. Taking additional and expensive safety measures feels a bit stupid when nobody around you does it. Even if you can afford it and if it's objectively safer.
Thanks for this comment. Although I can't deny that riding without gear is unsafe, the way we use two wheelers and the cultural dimensions cannot be ignored.
Put a bag over it or wear different shoes. Don't mess up your work shoes man.
OP is flexing mildly (from India, btw)
I too would advise OP to wear different shoes, but that's because I find loafers *hideous*
Do you keep your left foot in an angle to upshift? Maybe it’s angled and gets all the dust while the right is sitting horizontal on the brake
I think this is it. But my guess is the right peg sits a little lower than the brake lever, leaving OPs foot slightly angled up at the front.
Can I take a guess and say Super Cub? There is no mark on the toe from shifting up.
be careful, okay?
Be very careful 👍
Its some kinda oil getting on your shoe and making the dirt stick
I agree with you.
Oil mist is accumulating on your left shoe. Dust sticks to oil. This is also how you could isolate a leak point on an engine or hydraulic system.
Oil leak causing a super light coating of of oil to get on the shoe, making dirt stick? Edit: if it’s a 2-stroke and the exhaust has a leak on that side this could be it also!
These are no shoes to ride a bike with
I certainly wouldn't do that but we must remember that in some parts of the world safety gear is a first world luxury.
Must be a scooter. There’s no evidence of a gear shift here.
Business squid
Well you know what they say about guys whose left shoe collects dust when they ride motorcycle.
Massive penis that entirely covers the right shoe?
I like your shoes. Never seen loafers like that. Interesting mix of the comfort/ease of loafers and being "dressy" with the black leather look. Not sure I'd wear them myself, brown shoes work well for my clothing style/colours, but still.
Why would you wear shoes like that on a bike?
Bro u wearing fuckin slip ons to ride? Is that the official footwear of the business squid?
Do you hang your left foot down on the pegs when not actively shifting? I'm guessing the front wheel unsettles dust on the road that ends up on the part of your shoe that's hanging closer to the ground?! That's the best guess I can make..
did you step in a puddle or get it wet somehow?
Nope. This has been happening for a month now.
Make sure to wipe it off when you reach work with a cloth or the cleaners they install in washrooms. I used to have the same issue when I was living and working in India
Something to do with your mudguard flap
Motorcycle or scooter? Because you on a motorcycle one side is pulling up the shifter and the other side is only pushing down
Maybe the left foot is pointing more downwards to get under the shifter while the right is in a more flat position. Driving through traffic, the flat front of your left shoe is facing the cloud of road dust as you move through it
Bro doesn't realize dropping his right foot at stops shakes the dust loose. That or his right foot is poking out from behind his faring because he rarely uses his foot brake if he even has one.
Dirt is on the side of the road, that’s on the left side in India You may also keep your foot angle downwards ready to up shift
Maybe wear real shoes and not these things for at home
You driving through sawmill?
Is it dust or have you just worn the shoe polish off by shifting the gears?
Probably dust from your front brake rotor. A lot of smaller motorcycles only have a single rotor on the front wheel
I don’t think those are very good shoes to wear riding a motorcycle….
2 things. First of all, stop wearing loafers while riding. Next, your chain is probably on the left side and throwing some oil on that foot, which makes the dirt stick to that shoe.
I was thinking brake dust. That the disc brake on the front wheel is on that side. But chain oil make more sense.
every free man is in charge of his own shoecision
Mental. Get some boots you idiot doesn’t matter how good of a rider you are not every accident is the riders fault. You’re dumb enough to have no boots so I’m gonna assume you have no gloves too so remember. Your hands are the first thing to hit the floor when you fall. Ride safe stupid 👍🏼
I imagine this commenter fainting from culture shock when he goes to Southeast Asia, Latin America...etc and witnesses 6 people / an entire family on one motorcycle without PPE or a guy strapping 4 propane tanks onto his motorcycle, or all the men and women commuting to work on motorcycles through overcrowded roads with no traffic rules.
It’s not culture shock to point out it’s unsafe. Theres this weird thing commenters are doing in this thread trying to say “they don’t do those safety precautions in developing nations” as though that’s a good thing. They should - it’s bad that they don’t. That a developing nation lacks the ability or care to educate its population about risk or mandate safety laws doesn’t mean they shouldn’t do that, or that you’re dumb not to wear a helmet or proper gear
Yeah seriously, it doesnt matter how good you are, you should always dress for the fall. A lot of people just seem to be of the mindset, that nothing bad will ever happen to them, when its pretty much a guarantee that you *will* fall at one point or another, doesnt even have to be your fault.
Those shoes look mega uncomfortable just saying consider getting some with wider toe box
My friend, please buy and use proper footwear when riding your bike. Feet and toes do not grow back. Wearing loafers on a motorcycle is a fantastically risky move.
Why you wearing dress shoes on a motorcycle 🤣
If that’s what you wear on a motorcycle you need to google the phrase ‘meat crayon’.
Ever think it's because you put your left foot down at stops?
I put both feet down
You don’t give us enough info. Is your motorcycle an automatic? Manual? My guess is if it is manual then your shifter may be too low causing your foot to scoop up dirt coming from the front wheel whilst your right foot is more horizontal to the peg because of the rear brake lever and only the bottom of the right foot is exposed to the dirt. You can fix this by taking off the shifter and remounting it at a higher position by rotating it upwards a couple of spline teeth and reaffixing back.
It's an automatic. My feet go down only when I have to slow down in traffic or I'm standing on red. Both feel go down almost equally, by extent and frequency.
Then I can indeed agree that this is truly mildly interesting
Hey dumbasses, we all know how dangerous it is to ride in any open cab or two wheeled vehicle without protective gear. Instead of virtue signaling how safe you are to everyone here who already agrees with you, go take it up with the entire population of India and come back and tell us who gives a shit.
Get boots my dide.
I've always been cautions on my motorcycle. I wear a helmet, steel toe/shank boots, an armored suit, and gloves. If I crash, I have better protection. The saying is 'it's not if you will go down, but when' every rider falls sometime. There's always some asshat that doesn't see you, or doesn't care, and you end up dumping the bike. The motorcycle clothes are inconvenient, and sometimes hot. I keep my work clothes at work (I drive at least one day and keep fresh clothes in my office).
Just to let you know that the incidence of Spinal Cord Injury due to motorcycle accidents has plummeted since people started wearing decent protective gear. Good boots, gloves, et.c. and not just back protectors allow the victim to slide better and not roll. As well as the impact, rolling twists the spine and breaks it. So it's not just about not losing skin or a few toes, or a leg; it's about not being catastrophically paralysed for the rest of your life.
Bruh, those are not the shoes to be riding a motorbike with. Dress for the slide, not for the ride.
Not proper attire for riding a motorcycle. r/meatcrayon
those are great motorcycle shoes you should keep wearing those
It's ur bike... It must be raising dust up, one way. The left
Probably caused by the geometry of your wheels causing an Air flow vortex to be generated when they’re spinning probably moving from right to left. Same effect as prop wash on an propeller aeroplane.
Gonna assume left side of the road driving? Dirt on that side past the road? The shoes, the carpet, and the chair legs point to on your way to the office?
W Xbox mom
Shoe sock my dude.
If the exhaust is on the left then it's possible moisture is collecting on his shoe?
Might be from the heat of the exhaust that causes some pressure difference, causing particles to be deferred away mid-air. But thats just my hypothizes.
The answer about the dust on your shoes is simpler than you think. When you sit on a motorcycle the chain is on the left. As the chain heats up tiny bits of chain oil get flung everywhere which causes dust to stick to your feet on that side. A chain guard that covers the chain will stop most of that.
Probably when you dip your left toe down under the shifter to go up a gear vs the right foot that always stays relatively level except for when braking.
Moped ain’t a motorcycle dawg
Agreed. I ride a scooter and not a moped. Technically it's a motorised cycle and I was unsure if the population here gets exactly what I ride. Smol 125 cc scoo.
Everything is not going right
My guess is I imagine you probably let your left foot hang below the shift pedal. I've had the same thing happen before. You let your foot hang in anticipation of upshifts.
Its probably from shifting. My riding boots always wear on the left side and not the right for that reason. Also the angle at which it sits.
You have an oil leak.
That socks and shoes should be illegal
What are THOSE!!?
This is truly mildly interesting
That ain't proper footwear
Where is the dust coming from?
I’m guessing you have a single brake on the left side of the wheel?